Did Benjamin Franklin Really Discover Electrical Charge in 1747?

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SUMMARY

Benjamin Franklin did not discover electrical charge in 1747; rather, he established the convention of labeling Leyden jars with the symbols + and - to represent electrical flow from surplus to deficit. His understanding of electricity was limited, and he guessed the direction of flow without knowing the actual nature of the surplus. The concept of electricity as a charge was introduced over a century later, culminating in the identification of the electron as a negatively charged particle by the end of the 19th century.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Leyden jars and their role in early electrical experiments
  • Familiarity with the historical context of electricity in the 18th and 19th centuries
  • Knowledge of basic electrical terminology, including charge and flow
  • Awareness of the development of atomic theory and the discovery of the electron
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the historical significance of Leyden jars in the study of electricity
  • Explore the evolution of electrical terminology from the 18th to the 19th century
  • Learn about the contributions of scientists who followed Franklin, particularly in the field of electromagnetism
  • Investigate the discovery of the electron and its implications for modern physics
USEFUL FOR

Historians, educators, students of physics, and anyone interested in the development of electrical science and its foundational concepts.

Geir19
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Is it true that it's Benjamin Franklin who in 1747 discovered the plus and minus of electrical charge?!?

Is the year 1747 of any significance for the discovery of electricity at all?!
 
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Geir19 said:
Is it true that it's Benjamin Franklin who in 1747 discovered the plus and minus of electrical charge?!?

Is the year 1747 of any significance for the discovery of electricity at all?!
You've already been warned not to post your numerology nonsense, so if that's where you are headed, don't go there.
 


And to answer the question: Franklin invented the convention of labeling batteries (in his case, Leyden jars) with the symbols + and -, as he was of the opinion that electricity was a flow from a surplus to a deficit. Of exactly what this surplus consisted of or what actual direction it flowed, he didn't know. Given a fifty-fifty chance, he guessed.

It wasn't until over a 100 years later that the idea of electricity being the a charge was introduced. and almost 150 until the term "electron" was coined for the elementary charge of electricity.

At the end of the 19th century a negatively charged particle that fit the bill was discovered and was named the electron.
 

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